Dice game with cards

ABSTRACT

The present invention relates to a game which can be played with dice or optionally with cards or both. Each of the eight sided dice will have 6 different point values for the first six faces, with each point value forming a suit, with five die per suit. The seventh die face is a “scratch” (which is denoted by a tiger with claws and is considered wild) face. The eighth die face is variable, there are two wilds, two scratches, and one “zap” die face. A winning “hand” or set of rolled dice will have five of a kind in any combination of die face. In an embodiment, a winning hand allows a player to draw a scratch card or lottery ticket, the value of which is determined by scratching, which value determines the value of the winning hand. There are various styles of game play involving the game pieces, with different rule sets for every style.

1. FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to dice games. More particularly, the invention relates to a card game where dice and cards are used build a hand.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Many variations of dice games have been played over the years. The present invention contemplates a variation of dice game where there are 5 die having 8 different face values, the objective being to “roll” 5 of a kind within the parameters of the rules to be discussed. The game includes “side games” or rule variations to allow for side bets and for multiple winners for each game.

The game of poker is highly popular and widely enjoyed both in private settings and in commercial gambling establishments (i.e., casinos). The game is traditionally played using playing cards. The playing cards typically contain 52 cards with numerical ranks from 2 to 10 and pictorial cards of Jack, Queen, King, and Ace. In addition, some games utilize two additional cards (e.g., pokers). The Ace card can function as either a value equal to “11”, or as the number “1”. The playing cards are also organized into four suits, i.e., the spades, clubs, hearts, and diamonds varieties of each numerical and pictorial type of card.

The game is typically played by having each player draw (or be dealt) five cards for one game of play (otherwise known as “a play”). Each player studies the cards in his or her possession (i.e., the player's “hand”) to determine whether the hand contains a combination of cards that falls within one of several categories of ranked combinations. The categories of ranked combinations together comprise the “ranking system of hands.” This ranking system ranks the hands by assigning a highest value to one type of card combination and successively lowers values to other card combinations. A player that possesses a hand of highest value (i.e., of highest rank) for a play wins the play. Often, each play involves the placing of a wager by each player, either with playing chips, tender, or both.

A poker hand having five of a kind is almost always a winning hand but is very difficult to achieve, as it requires 4 of the same value card plus a wild card.

The present invention relates to a game which can be played with dice or optionally with cards or both. Each of the eight sided dice will have 6 different point values for the first six faces, with each point value forming a suit, with five die per suit. The seventh die face is a “scratch” (which is denoted by a tiger with claws and is considered wild) face. The eighth die face is variable, there are two wilds, two scratches, and one “zap” die face. A winning “hand” or set of rolled dice will have five of a kind in any combination of die face. In an embodiment, a winning hand allows a player to draw a scratch card or lottery ticket, the value of which is determined by scratching, which value determines the value of the winning hand. There are various styles of game play involving the game pieces, with different rule sets for every style.

The game is played with five 8 sided dice and the player that rolls the best poker hand (according to the established rules of poker) wins the round. Having five of a kind is usually a winning hand but if more than one player has five of a kind the highest five of a kind wins the round. By design, five of a kind is very difficult to achieve.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is a major object of the invention to provide an improved dice game.

It is another object of the invention to provide an improved dice game that can be played with cards or dice.

It is another object of the invention to provide an improved dice game that emulates a poker game.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of the game pieces of the invention.

FIG. 2 shows a perspective view of additional game pieces of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present invention is directed to a game using dice, and having various sets of related rules with slightly differing objectives. The object of the game is to acquire a hand with matching “elements”, which elements may be die face or alternatively cards. When a player gets a hand with enough matching elements the game is won or a “scratcheze” is declared in accordance with the game terminology. Both dice and cards have varying values and in one embodiment the object of the game is to get five of a kind with either.

Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 2, the game pieces are shown. It can be seen that the game pieces consist of a plurality of die 30. Five die 30 are shown with various face values as will be described later. A single poker chip 34 can also be used in accordance with the rules of the game, the poker chip 34 being used to determine which player opens the round. In one embodiment of the inventive game, playing cards may be used in place of scratch tickets 36 in which case there are no lottery tickets. Finally, players may purchase lottery tickets which may be used as an ante as will be described later.

Object

There are two desired outcomes when playing this game. In a first embodiment of the rules, there are no stakes and one simply plays for entertainment, the desired outcome then being a won round by accumulation of points. In a second embodiment there are stakes as will be discussed in detail below. Either way the object is to have five of any kind. Die face values are determined by rolling dice. Each player starts with five die to roll, and each player gets 3 rolls, unless that player rolls a zap while going for a scratcheze as will be explained in more detail later.

Game Pieces

The game pieces are as follows:

5 Dice 30, which dice 30 are eight sided, with die face values ranging from 1 to 6 (five of each), with a “scratcheze” or “scratch” (which is denoted by a tiger with claws and is considered wild) die face on the seventh face. The eighth die face is variable, there are two wilds, two scratcheze, and one “zap” die face on the eighth face 31. Thus all die 30 are the same except for the seventh 33 and eighth 31 face. The die face values 1-6 correspond to points so that there are five 100 point die faces, five 200 point die faces, five 300 point die faces, five 400 point die faces, five 500 point die faces, five 600 point die faces, five scratcheze die face (one for the seventh face of each die) which are considered wild and have a value of 1,000 points. The face value for the eighth die face 31 is variable. That is, two of the die 30 will have an eighth face 31 that is wild, two will have another scratch face, and one of the die 30 will have a “ZAP” on its eighth face 31. The two wilds on the eighth face 31 are worth 750 points. One of the eighth die faces 31 is a ZAP which means a player loses his turn or right to continue rolling. The game may also be played with cards, which are customized so that they have face values matching the die face values discussed above.

In addition to the dice 30 there are a stack of cards 36. The cards 36 are “scratch” cards, that is, cards with a removable (scratchable) scratch image 37 like that on the die 30. The scratch image 37 is removed from the card 36 by scratching to determine the value of the card. Alternatively, the cards 36 may be a stack of lottery cards of the “scratch off” type, which will vary from state to state. In either case, scratching is done to reveal the monetary value of the card 36. All of the players contribute to the purchase of the cards 36 before the game starts, the stack of cards 36 being the equivalent of an “ante”.

Finally, there is a single poker chip 34 with no assigned value. The player starting the game gets this chip.

Rules

In an embodiment, the game is played for stakes, that is actual winnings Points are accumulated as the game progresses and are related to dollar values, which accrue to the winner in the form of a chip having a pre-assigned monetary value, one or more scratch cards 36, or lottery tickets of various values as determined by the points accumulated by the winner. To start the game, each player rolls one die 30 to determine who starts the game. The player that rolls the highest die in terms of point value begins the game. The die face values are as described above: scratch die face which are worth 1,000 points, the two wild die on the eighth face which are worth 750 points, and then 600 point, 500 point, etc. die face, in this order as has been explained. At this point the player order is clockwise or left to right from the one who rolled the highest dice.

When rolling the dice 30 a player has a maximum of five rolls, and can continue to roll as long as he/she continues to acquire additional dice 30 in that number or a scratch (wild) die 30 that the player is rolling for. With this game the player can change what they are rolling for, see example below.

Example I

Your first roll you roll two 5's, a 3, a 4, a 6, (Now you are rolling for 5's at this time you roll the other remaining (3) dice 30 trying to roll for 5's. You keep rolling the three dice 30 unless you have a roll with no 5's, that is you roll the 3 remaining dice 30 and none is a 5.) If you roll the remaining 3 dice and get two more fives, you roll the remaining die 30 hoping for a 5. If you have four 5's and do not get your fifth dice 30 of what you are rolling for, you lose your turn and the next player begins rolling (the value of this hand is then set at 4 fives). The next player has two options, she can roll one die 30 trying to get a five (essentially taking over the previous player's hand in an attempt to get five of a kind) for a scratch card 36, or start over by rolling all five die 30. With this example, if a player rolls two fives on first roll, but also has three 4's, the player can change what he is rolling for. At this time that player can still roll for 5's or change to the 4's.

In accordance with the rules, one can change what he/she is rolling for during the first couple of rolls. See example below.

Example II

Its your turn to roll. You have five dice 30 and you can roll all five again or choose a die value you want to try to get five of with ensuing rolls, again with a limit of five rolls per player. Both WILD die faces are wild with any number of scratch die faces. Again, the scratch and wild die faces are both wild and are valuated as stated above.

Example III

You have two of one die face and either you can keep rolling for the same value die face or switch what you are going for. If you get a Wild you could change what you are rolling for.

If on your first roll you have any scratch die 30 and a ZAP die 30 you do not loose your turn. After the first roll if the player opts to go for a scratch die 30 (that is attempt to roll five scratches), but instead rolls the dice 30 and gets a ZAP die 30 that player loses their turn. The reason for this that there are NINE CHANCES to get a scratch, and only SEVEN chances for all others but there is only one ZAP face on the dice 30 so the ZAP only comes into play with players going for a scratch. If a player has a foul (i.e., rolls out of the playing area or attempts to roll in a way to get a desired outcome) and did not roll the fifth dice to get the face value on the die 30 that they were rolling for, that player loses their turn. However, that player still has two options; roll only one of the remaining dice 30 to try to get that fifth dice of the previous players four of a kind, or start anew with a fresh turn.

As mentioned above, the game can be played simply for fun with cards (the cards having identical face values to the die as described above) instead of dice in which case the following rules apply:

In this embodiment of the rules of play there are forty-five cards and the first player draws the top card. Each card has a value, from 100 to 1000 points. Each player accumulates cards by drawing in order. At the end of the game the one with the most points wins.

As a player gathers point cards they must keep them in order so if one picks a ZAP card from the deck, one must lose the highest point card obtained to that point in the game. Once a player has been ZAPPED, the remaining cards accrued to this point are safe from being ZAPPED again.

Example

You have four cards, a 200 point card, 300 point card, a 500 point card and a scratch card which is worth a THOUSAND points. Now you get a ZAP card you must loose your highest card at this point in the game. In this case it is your scratch card worth the 1000 points which is now worth nothing. However, the other three point cards or 1000 total points are safe for the rest of the game.

As play continues, you draw a Wild card which is worth 750 points and a 300 point card but draw another ZAP card. You now lose your highest point card (750 points) since that last ZAP. Thus, you lose your WILD card or 750 point card and are left with the 300 point card, plus any prior accrued point cards (in this example the 200, 300, and 500 point cards accrued before the first ZAP). However, drawing a ZAP card when a player has no point cards (i.e., the first draw) does not cause that player to incur a penalty as there are no point cards to lose. For players that have already picked a ZAP card, their previous points are safe and can not be taken away. But, if any player accumulates additional points after a first ZAP card, those points can be taken away as described above. The ultimate winner is the person with the most points, after all players have had their draw, that is, all 45 of the cards have been picked. The highest point total obtainable is 19,250 assuming no ZAP cards have been picked resulting in point loss. And the most a person could loose is 5000 points, depending upon how many points the player has accumulated before any ZAPS.

When playing for stakes with die 30 in accordance with the above stated rules, if the game ends in a tie with, for example, each player having four of a kind, the game advances to the “BLACK COUGAR” cage match, when there are two or more tied for the most points. The Black Cougar game can be played when playing with dice 30 or cards. Each player rolls one die 30 until they get a scratch die face. In other words, the scratch die gives that player 5 of a kind (if the game is tied at 4 of a kind). Then that player draws a scratch card from the deck, each player in the Cage Match rolls until they draw a card. After scratching to reveal the value of the card, the player with the highest value scratch card WINS. If still tied the Cage Match is replayed until there is a winner.

In order to speed up play, if a player has four of a kind and has not rolled a fifth (of the same kind) on his final roll, the game may be advanced, with consent of all of the players, to Safari Express Mode. In this mode, players will, in the same sequence of turns, try to roll the fifth of a kind with a single die. Each player gets only one roll. The first player to get either the fifth of a kind or a scratch wins.

Tables I and II below show the Dice rankings and the odds of winning with various “hands”.

TABLE I Dice Rankings Highest Dice Odds = 1-1 Highest single dice 1 to SCRATCHEZE, who ever wins has the Highest Dice that round. A Pair Odds = 1-1 Any two dice including the wild dice that is the highest after each round wins that round. Two Pair Odds = 2-1 Any pair of a given valve, with another pair of different value, the value of the second pair decides the Winner. Three of a Kind Odds = 3-1 Three Dice of the same rank or use of the Wild dice with two different (if the other two made a pair, would be a full house) Straight Odds = 5-1 Five Dice in Sequence, Wild can be the Highest in a run *In case of ties next highest dice is the tie breaker

TABLE II Rankings and Odds Full House Odds = 10-1 Three of a Kind and a pair of another, using the Wild as an advantage Four of a kind Odds = 20-1 Four of the highest matching value including the wild dice (tie go to fifth dice for highest value to determine winner) Five of a Kind Odds = 30-1 Other than the five of a kind tie breakers are the Highest supporting dice to your turn Scratch Odds = 50-1 One of the Hardest rolls to achieve for that ONE ZAP, which ends your turn. If that happens your highest without that zap is counted as your POKER Roll.

In another embodiment, the rules are modified for express play. In express play, when a player has four of a kind, and did not roll the fifth of what they rolling for, the next player rolls one dice to try to get that fifth of a kind. If that player also did not roll the fifth dice of that kind it continues to the next player and so on around the table until someone rolls a scratch (which again can be a die face or a card if playing with cards). The rules are otherwise unchanged in express mode.

In another embodiment, players play with a deck of scratch off type lottery tickets. This game can only be played by one old enough to purchase and play a state lottery. There are two rule sets in this embodiment. One is the CARDINAL COUGAR game. This game starts with all players having purchased the same dollar value worth of lottery tickets, which value is determined at the outset of the game. One of the players buys all of the tickets. It is recommended that only one, two, or five dollar lottery tickets be purchased, as higher denominations will make for a less “friendly” game. The lottery tickets are set up randomly in the deck as by shuffling. As the tickets are picked from the deck, each player hopes for the currently picking player to get the lesser dollar amount ticket, because it increases his/her odds of getting the highest value lottery ticket from the deck as play progresses. At the outset of the game, the winning amount is set and agreed upon by all of the players (that is, the amount of lottery ticket values picked from the deck and accrued by a winner, which amount he is allowed to keep) with the remainder split evenly with all the players playing that game. If, for example, twenty dollars is selected as the winning amount, any scratch ticket winner under twenty dollars, that player keeps. With the right ticket combinations all playing the game could share the jackpot prize, assuming one of the lottery tickets initially purchased is a winner. The Express play rules stated above may be used for this embodiment.

In another embodiment, a poker variant is contemplated. In this variant, which is played with dice 30, the same rolling rules (with scratch and zap die as explained above) are used. A poker chip 34 is used to start the game. After all players roll the five dice 30 a winner is determined using poker rules, and that winner wins the chip 34, which chip 34 is moved from player to player as they roll, until the last player has rolled and a winner decided. A new player can only join in after a round of dice rolls are completed. Players can otherwise opt in or out of the game during play. 

I claim:
 1. A method of playing a dice game between two or more players, said game played with a group of five die per player, each of said die having at least 8 different face values, the method comprising the steps of: each of said players rolling a single die, in turn, to determine an initial player, said initial player then rolling the five dice a maximum of five times to get a set of five face values corresponding to a hand; each of said remaining players rolling the five dice a maximum of five times to attempt to get a set of five values corresponding to a hand; and deciding a winner when a player completed the game by rolling a hand of five of a kind of matching die face.
 2. The method of claim 1 including the steps of determining how many matching die said initial player has after a final roll, determining face values of said matching die, and allowing remaining players in turn to attempt to complete said initial players roll by rolling a remaining number of die to complete said initial players hand.
 3. The method of claim 1 including the steps of determining if any player has rolled four of a kind before or during a fifth roll, and allowing a subsequent player to roll one die to match said four of a kind, and declaring said subsequent player a winner if said one die matches said four of a kind. 